Sloppy Handlebars

I have a 1975 XS650b that I recently got running after sitting since 2003 or so, the carbs were a big pain but I got them cleaned out with a Pinesol Boil out and cleaning with Gumout carb cleaner ($2.99 at Walmart) and my little portable compressor. My next thing I need to do to make her road worthy again is the way the handle bars
are mounted they are really sloppy loose.I tried to put spacer washers on the studs but no good it seems the rubber grommets are shot or the holes in them are too big.
They don't look bad, they are pliable soft and even smell fresh but I cannot ride it like it is. Here is a picture of 1 of the 4.
My bars will wobble about an inch, it is a pretty strange feeling.

Hugh sells aluminum ones. They are top notch. Takes all the slop out. Nice and sturdy

New OEM ones are available. Not as sturdy as the solid ones, but better at isolating vibration. Did mine a while back. It makes a world of difference.

JesseeS said:

Hugh sells aluminum ones. They are top notch. Takes all the slop out. Nice and sturdy

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Who is Hugh? I'm pretty new here..
I saw Mikes XS has a set of 4 for about 20 bucks but I have been hearing some not so great things about them, Thoughts?
Which years had that rubber grommet bar mounting? This is my first 75 but I don't remember it with my (2) 1973-TXs my, 71 or 72, and 76/78's I can say the 75 is by far the best bike out of them all.

Orion61 said:

Who is Hugh? I'm pretty new here..
I saw Mikes XS has a set of 4 for about 20 bucks but I have been hearing some not so great things about them, Thoughts?
Which years had that rubber grommet bar mounting? This is my first 75 but I don't remember it with my (2) 1973-TXs my, 71 or 72, and 76/78's I can say the 75 is by far the best bike out of them all.

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I apologize I should've been more specific. Hugh from hughshandbuilt.com. Great guy, does a lot for the xs community and is always great at answering questions. I had some on my previous bike (none on this one yet) and the vibrations didn't get worse to my hands (although I am used to the vibes of thumpers). I had on oury grips which may have helped vibes. As far as info on the rubber sections, they were on my 75, 77, and my 81. I would assume they came on most if not all, but you know what they say about assuming....hopefully somebody else can chime in

jetmechmarty said:

New OEM ones are available. Not as sturdy as the solid ones, but better at isolating vibration. Did mine a while back. It makes a world of difference.

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+1

Someone may have installed the wrong rubber bits there. Those don't look like the handlebar dampers, they look like battery box mounts. The handlebar dampers, at least the later ones anyway, don't have grooves in the sides like that. Yes, these loosen up with age but yours sound extremely loose, like the part may be incorrect to start with.

Good catch. Didn't see the ribs till I clicked the thumbnail.

I got NOS early cone type on ebay, it just takes patience - they will show up

After looking at some eBay offerings, it appears the early dampers are grooved and look just like yours. So, maybe yours are just shot. But like you said, they sure look like they're in good shape. When you tried to shim them, did you get washers that fit over the shank of the bar clamps? Like washer # 20 here? .....



If the washers you used only fit over the narrower threaded portion on the bottom then they wouldn't do anything.

The placement of the washer is between the upper and lower rubber damper, #19 something like a nice fat 7/16" or 1/2" washer. More important that it fills "most" of the area than that it is a tight fit on the riser shank.. I put in washers and been happy with the results on "several" XS's The tiller type bars on specials or other "long" handlebars make the slop worse. The later more solid bushings may help also. All XS650's have the bushings though they changed a bit over the years. I wouldn't put in the "solid aluminum bushings" but have not tried them. I figure the factory had a good reason to design and install the rubber mounts on the big old parallel twin, grin. I go beyond that to extra soft silicone grips as well.

I dug up some washers that were just the right size, and added them to the mix. That compresses the rubber down more and rids it of the sloppiness.

I've used the washer shim to take the slop out and replaced the dampers.
The vibration still seems "harder' on the shimmed units and "softer" on the replaced one.

Mine seem like the center holes are too big, so it doesn't matter how much I compress them they are still sloppy.
I could probably try to wrap the shaft with electric tape and tighten it up that way? They seem tight enough that they stay up in the sleeves themselves.
The rubber actually looks just like new, isn't stiff and like I said even smells like new. The shop I got it from said they went completely through the bike
carbs, chain, tires and greased it, oil screen air filters etc. They have a very good rep of only selling used bikes that are good, They even brag about junking bikes they wouldn't let family ride. And I only pair 6 or $700.00 but that was 25 years ago when these were a dime a dozen. Now I get one or two calls a month from people that want to buy it. But now that I think back the bars were always a little loose. I put thick enough washers on it that I could only get about 1 1/2 threads on the nut to start to tighten it, so I couldn't get it any more compressed.
I love going through the old posts and reading different trouble, you guys are like Junk Yard dogs taking on the problem! I am not quite sure I have ever seen any thing like it.
BTW who owns this site? Is it a retail business so I can give them all my XS business as appreciation? Thank you all, you got me through Boiling my Carbs with pine sol and cleaning all the passageways and jets. I got the carbs all polished up now the rest of the bike looks like a shame! You wouldn't believe what the bowls looked like inside.. The floats were frozen solid. I had it stored in one garage until the person sold her house them an old dealership but they charged $100.00 a year BUT it was clean and most of all heated! I put a little gas in it and rode it to the new place, (shut off the petcocks) ran it out of gas but unfortunately I forgot my petcocks leaked so it slowly filled the bowls again and rotted in there....looked like pine tar!

....just a collection of like minded people.

I got some dampers from Mikes... not horrible quality, but they have a bad rep for their rubber products, so time will tell.

Orion61 said:

Mine seem like the center holes are too big,

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Do you have the stock handlebar risers? Note in the diagram above that the correct risers have a thick shank with a reduced diameter threaded end....
I'd give up some used bushings but I use the ones without the flutes for intake plugs on stored engines. With a carriage bolt, nut, and washer they do a nice job of sealing the intakes.

Orion61 said:

I can say the 75 is by far the best bike out of them all.

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Yeah baby !

Orion61 said:

Mine seem like the center holes are too big, so it doesn't matter how much I compress them they are still sloppy.
I could probably try to wrap the shaft with electric tape and tighten it up that way?

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Doesn't sound right, I've just changed mine out and the difference is remarkable, stiff.... you might say.

You must have the wrong rubbers or its not assembled as per the drawing posted up by 5Twins, I have the old risers too, i'll take a closer look today.

Electrical tape....NO, if they are not fitting correctly there is something wrong.....the rubbers should push and stay in.

Mick

"I put thick enough washers on it that I could only get about 1 1/2 threads on the nut to start to tighten it, so I couldn't get it any more compressed."

The pin has a reduced thread shank. Make sure your washer center is large enough to go over the shoulder.

Are you sure about the washer going over the shoulder Weaselbeak?
The set I put on didn't, and this shows the washer on the shoulder on the set I've taken off, the washer on top is shown below picture